March 27, 2008
Sculpture Returned to New Granite Fountain
Waters to Reflect Campus When Turned Back On
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The renovated heart of the Marshall University campus will be spraying again April 8. That’s when the Memorial Fountain will be re-dedicated and the water turned on for the season.
Previously, a large crane moved the sculpture away from the fountain base so that mechanical aspects of the fountain could be replaced and granite installed to replace the blue paint and white concrete exterior of the so-called bathtub.
The granite that surrounds the fountain --- i.e. where everyone likes to sit in the sun --- comes from South Dakota near Mount Rushmore, said John Sears, of _McClung-Sears Mounument __. The pool surface granite comes from Canada and has a green aura to resemble the school colors.
“It matches the [granite] in the Pathway to Prominence [that we previously installed],” Sears said.
Although eight contractors participated in the $200,000 project, all of the labor and design came from in house, according to Mark Cutlip, director of physical plant operations.
“My people did the mechanical repairs,” Cutlip said as one of his men reattached the original 1970 fountain head, which has been repaired so it will fully spray like at its installation, instead of about a two-third gusher at the time the fountain was disassembled for repairs. At that time, all of the electrical wiring and piping were exposed.
The crucial nature of the project began when the sculpture’s foundation showed signs of weakening after 35 years.
Besides adding a variable speed pump and upgrading the fountain to its original 1970 parameters, the Marshall Foundation, Art Department and Physical Planning undertook a separate challenge --- when conceived, the sculpture was to itself have been floating in the water.
Donald Van Horn, dean of the College of Fine Arts, helped brainstorm ideas for retrofitting the sculptor’s initial concept. Van Horn came up with the concept that “they only way to have the sculpture float in the water was to come up with a tray,” Cutlip said. “When we put the pen together , the fountain will sit in a pool of water which will cascade 360 degrees as it falls into the main pool.”
The lighted view at night will be particularly aesthetically pleasing, Cutlip said. The project will reinvigorate what the physical plant director called “the heart of the campus.” He told, “when my daughter first visited before she enrolled, this is where we ended up. Right here on this walk. We read the plaque. There are so many people in the community that have ties to one of the names on that plaque.”
When the water flows again in April at the dedication, you will see “the sculpture, the trees, the lights in a real shimmering pool. It’s a whole different vantage point,” Cutlip explained.
Timing has been critical for the project which includes renovations to the memorial to the six unidentified players at Spring Hill Cemetery. Previously, the walkway tiles were cracking and you had to step up to the monument. “We took up the benches, cleaned, put new concrete down, and made the monument ADA accessible.”
The director of plant operations noted, “A lot of families really appreciate that we maintain this [fountain]. We wanted to do it right.”
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Waters to Reflect Campus When Turned Back On
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The renovated heart of the Marshall University campus will be spraying again April 8. That’s when the Memorial Fountain will be re-dedicated and the water turned on for the season.
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The granite that surrounds the fountain --- i.e. where everyone likes to sit in the sun --- comes from South Dakota near Mount Rushmore, said John Sears, of _McClung-Sears Mounument __. The pool surface granite comes from Canada and has a green aura to resemble the school colors.
“It matches the [granite] in the Pathway to Prominence [that we previously installed],” Sears said.
Although eight contractors participated in the $200,000 project, all of the labor and design came from in house, according to Mark Cutlip, director of physical plant operations.
“My people did the mechanical repairs,” Cutlip said as one of his men reattached the original 1970 fountain head, which has been repaired so it will fully spray like at its installation, instead of about a two-third gusher at the time the fountain was disassembled for repairs. At that time, all of the electrical wiring and piping were exposed.
The crucial nature of the project began when the sculpture’s foundation showed signs of weakening after 35 years.
Besides adding a variable speed pump and upgrading the fountain to its original 1970 parameters, the Marshall Foundation, Art Department and Physical Planning undertook a separate challenge --- when conceived, the sculpture was to itself have been floating in the water.
Donald Van Horn, dean of the College of Fine Arts, helped brainstorm ideas for retrofitting the sculptor’s initial concept. Van Horn came up with the concept that “they only way to have the sculpture float in the water was to come up with a tray,” Cutlip said. “When we put the pen together , the fountain will sit in a pool of water which will cascade 360 degrees as it falls into the main pool.”
The lighted view at night will be particularly aesthetically pleasing, Cutlip said. The project will reinvigorate what the physical plant director called “the heart of the campus.” He told, “when my daughter first visited before she enrolled, this is where we ended up. Right here on this walk. We read the plaque. There are so many people in the community that have ties to one of the names on that plaque.”
When the water flows again in April at the dedication, you will see “the sculpture, the trees, the lights in a real shimmering pool. It’s a whole different vantage point,” Cutlip explained.
Timing has been critical for the project which includes renovations to the memorial to the six unidentified players at Spring Hill Cemetery. Previously, the walkway tiles were cracking and you had to step up to the monument. “We took up the benches, cleaned, put new concrete down, and made the monument ADA accessible.”
The director of plant operations noted, “A lot of families really appreciate that we maintain this [fountain]. We wanted to do it right.”
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